CHAPTER 4
Cash
“You are so handsome.” Cheyenne slapped her hand on my face and it slid down as I held her in my arms and carried her to my truck.
“Thanks,” I responded even though I knew that she had no idea what she was saying. Still, it was nice to hear.
“Bless her heart,” Miss Shaw commented as I opened the passenger side door and attempted to load her in. “It’s just like the first night she came home. Do you remember that?”
Of course I remembered that.
How could I forget?
Cheyenne had spent the night with Reagan sitting in a booth in Southern Comfort and she’d looked terrified. There’d been a steady stream of folks she had no memory of telling her she was the spitting image of her mama, asking her questions about the twenty years she’d been gone, and grilling her about what her plans were now that she was back.
I’d kept an eye on her the entire night but hadn’t intervened like tonight because Billy and Reagan seemed to have it under control.
She’d been back almost a year and hadn’t partaken in more than two drinks a night, usually she stopped at one. She was a very responsible drinker.
I knew that she’d had one too many that first night back in town because she’d been so nervous and overwhelmed. Which made me wonder, what could have happened today to cause her to get plastered. My mind was spinning trying to come up with what it could be when Miss Shaw stopped in front of my truck.
“You get her home safe and sound, you hear me, Cash Malone?” She wagged her finger in my direction.
“Yes, ma’am.” I nodded as I pulled the seatbelt out and tugged it over Cheyenne before clicking it into place.
As I leaned over her, Cheyenne threw her arms around my neck. “You smell good,” she whispered against my neck as she inhaled. Her lips brushed against my skin. “I want to taste you.”
I pulled away before that could happen. The head that sat on my shoulders knew that she was totally out of it and only being so forward because she was drunk. But the head beneath my belt didn’t have that clarity and I didn’t need things to feel more uncomfortable than they already did.
After shutting her door, I took a deep breath. I just needed to get Cheyenne home, safe and sound as Miss Shaw had pointed out, and then put this night behind us.
When I’d seen Cheyenne stand up and knock her own chair over, I knew that she was wasted. But I hadn’t known just how far gone until she dragged me onto the dance floor. That’s when I decided I needed to take her home.
I just hoped that Billy didn’t find out about me carrying her off the dance floor or me taking her home. I knew that would ruin his honeymoon. I would hate it if that happened.
Billy was my best friend. He’d seen me through the worst time in my life which was probably why he didn’t want me anywhere near Cheyenne. When people asked if he thought Cheyenne and me would be a cute couple, he’d tell them that there was no way his baby sister was going to be with Casanova.
But I had a feeling it had nothing to do with that nickname or how I’d earned it. It was about the darker side of me that only he really knew about. The side that was like my father. And he was right.
After seeing things I couldn’t unsee and doing things I couldn’t undo during my time overseas, I’d been diagnosed with PTSD. I’d suffered from depression and had severe anxiety. No one except Billy and my therapist knew about it though. I was good at smiling and being the same ol’ Cash that everyone expected me to be. Too good at it.
But Billy had seen through my smile. He’d known that I was different when I came home. He was the one that insisted I see someone. If it wasn’t for Billy, I honestly didn’t think that I would be here now.
And that wasn’t the only way that Billy had been there for me. When I was in Afghanistan and my dad was diagnosed with stage four cancer, Billy had been there for my mom. He’d made sure that she had the support that she needed to care for my dad. He’d driven them both to doctor’s appointments and shown up with groceries.
I’d gotten weekly updates about how much Billy was doing for both my parents. My mom would end every email by writing that she didn’t know what she’d do if it wasn’t for Billy’s support. I owed Billy more than just my life, I owed him for being there for my parents when I hadn’t been able to be.
The least I could do was stay the fuck away from his sister. The only problem was, I loved her. I loved her more than I even knew I was capable of loving.
Pushing all of that out of my head, I climbed into the driver’s side of my truck. When I shut the door, Cheyenne moaned. Not a sexy moan. It was a puke moan. I quickly pressed the button to roll the window down, hoping the fresh air would help. I grabbed a bag from behind the seat but when I pulled it up to the front I saw that her head was dropped back on the headrest.
She was passed out.
The drive back to her house, which happened to be Billy’s old house before he moved in with Reagan, wasn’t that long. Not that driving anywhere in Firefly took that long. The tiny island community wasn’t exactly a sprawling metropolis.
It was a small, sleepy, tourist town that I’d thought I would grow old and die in.
But as I glanced over at Cheyenne to check on her, I wondered if my plans might need to change. Every day, every hour, every minute that I spent with her, or hell didn’t spend with her I was falling more and more in love with her.